Following the Union of Crowns, James VI/I established a joint Anglo-Scottish Border Commission in 1605 with sweeping powers to pacify the now rebranded Middle Shires. The commission conducted systematic executions — accounts suggest around 140 reivers were hanged in the first year of operation — and banishments that went far beyond anything attempted before. English and Scottish commissioners worked together for the first time with coordinated lists of offenders. The institutional removal of border lawlessness through legal-military commission was the most effective mechanism ever applied to the Border problem.
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